Nathan Vasher's rough season took a turn for the worse when Chicago announced on Wednesday that the veteran cornerback is out indefinitely with a fractured right hand. "Right now, all I can say is he's not playing this week," Coach Lovie Smith said. Vasher re-injured his right thumb that was surgically repaired last month, casting doubt on whether he will return this season.

The Chicago Bears used Devin Hester in the Ronnie Brown role as part of the Wildcat formation on Sunday. "Ya'll trying to make me tell our playbook?" Hester said. "We just did it this week ? here and there. "You want us to tell you the plays we're running next week too?" Last week he voiced frustration about his struggles in the return game. The Bears responded by alleviating some pressure by replacing him with Danieal Manning on kickoff returns, then utilizing Hester more on offense. "It was part of the game plan because the looks they give, we thought there were some things that we could do," offensive coordinator Ron Turner said of using Hester. "And he's a playmaker. We have to get it in his hands. We didn't last week, and we need to get the ball in the hands of our playmakers."

St. Louis quarterback Marc Bulger left the team's 27-3 loss to Chicago in the first quarter on Sunday with a concussion and did not return. He suffered the concussion on a sack in the team's first offensive series. Rams' coach Jim Haslett believed that Bulger had improved by the end of the game, but his status is still uncertain for Week 13. "I thought he looked fine in the second half" Haslett said.

The Bears claim that coach Lovie Smith is not interested in the head coaching position at the University of Tennessee. "They reached out to Lovie sometime last week or the week before, and he said he has no interest," Bears' spokesman Scott Hagel said. "They've contacted a lot of people with connections to the university." Smith was an assistant at Tennessee in 1993-94 under departing coach Phil Fulmer.

Bears' quarterback Kyle Orton is expected to start on Sunday against the Packers despite a right high ankle sprain. The start would be Orton's first at Lambeau Field. He is officially listed as probable on Chicago's injury report. Bears' coach Lovie Smith refused to declare Orton the starter after Friday's practice. "Of course we have tomorrow [Saturday], too, to see how it goes for him," Smith said. "He's gotten better each day."

Bears' quarterback Kyle Orton claims that his ankle injury has improved and it appears as though he could play on Sunday against the undefeated Titans. "It's been a good couple days," said Orton. "I've been waking up with a smile on my face. Going back and looking at it, I felt I got pretty lucky. It looked pretty bad. So all in all, I've got a smile on my face and just can't wait to get back out there." He did not suffer a high-ankle sprain, as initially thought, that would sideline him for multiple weeks.

Early reports out of Chicago are that quarterback Kyle Orton will miss one month of action after suffering a high ankle sprain against Detroit on Sunday. Orton was taken off the field on a cart in the second quarter, and a source told ESPN that the sprain will sideline him for up to a month.

Rex Grossman came off the bench to replace starter Kyle Orton, who injured his ankle, with both a rushing and passing touchdown. Chicago defeated Detroit 27-23 despite Orton's injury and a respectable performance by the winless Lions.